Siveen

Fayvus walked along Kenni to the trees until he got to the trees. Twenty years ago he could climb easily after working so hard but he was old now. He got ready his axe before jumpping. He ran up to the tree, jumped to a double step on the tree, and chopped his hand axe into the wood to stabalize himself. Continueing this he chose to climb to a branch near Kenni's so they could speak.

The weapons he had were sharp but Fayvus wanted to sharpen his axe still. He spit on it to begin to sharpening it with one of his knives. He thought to what Kenni must have just experienced. She had been sheltered her entire life and now was the only time she had ever seen violence of this degree. Most soldiers have never even seen half of this in a lifetime of war. He felt sorry for the poor girl but thought of a way to comfort her.

He looked over to Kenni. "This will all go over smoothly." He told her with a soothing voice and a kind smile. "Would you like to hear one of those stories I told you about now child?" He asked her.

Kenni shivered upon the branches, gripping the crossbow close to her, wondering exactly what to do. She wanted to help but simultaneously she wanted to hide and cry. So much was happening and her chest hurt from the mixture of emotions trying to break free. But she managed to keep a relatively steady breath and watched Fayvus join them in the trees along with the others.

The girl with her on the branch gave a soft smile, but Kenni was nearly beyond comfort. When Fayvus spoke however, she felt memories wash over her and she nodded vigorously, feeling her eyes begin to burn. "Yes Fayvus," she let out softly. "Yes. Please."

Fayvus cleared his voice before speaking so that it would be as clear as possible. "Many years ago when I was still a young, naive lad, I was traveling through the forests of Deloce. I had heard tales of mystical creatures there but I had never put a second thought to it. I was searching for the secrets of life for selfish desires so I could not be persuaded out of going there. I never thought it was real, that is until I came across a being whom I shall never forget." He told her. He let the last words sink in for five seconds before continueing.

"A day through at night I heard some shouting in the distance and rushed to the point of sound without any reguard for my safety for I feared a man may be endangered. What I found was not what I expected. It was not a human man but an elven man, wounded by an arrow. Young looking too may I add though older than I. There was nobody in sight so I took care to remove the arrow from his wound and began surgery. There I waited patiently for three days tending to the elf's wounds. On the fourth day he awoke to find a human watching over him. He was as confused as I was but we soon conversed on what had happened." He went on with a smile at the memories.

"His name was Ernil Orod. Orod had been out of where his people dwelled to gather different plants and to draw when he was attacked. He said that he was attacked by goblins and was barely able to escape. His fear rose for no one knew where he went because he told no one he was leaving. His father was an important man who did not like his son's curiosity of the outside. We coversed for the rest of the short time about teachings and philosophy. He taught me about herbs and healings while I taught him about geography and of different cultures in the world."

"The time came when we had to depart from each others company. The treatment I gave Orod healed him quickly and he was thankful for it. He told me that he would always remember my kindness and I told him I would remember his wisdom. We parted on good terms. That was the only elf I have ever seen in my life. Perhaps the wisest creature I will ever meet." He finished his story.

Neecey listened to the man's story while keeping her eyes on the forest below. She kept the cloak wrapped tight around her to hide any elven features. Although, this man didn't seem to be an enemy of the elves, but a friend.

When he mention Ernil Orod, Neecey perked up. Her ears twitching underneath the hood. Ernil Orod was once the Prince of her clan. A great man, very wise, who spoke of beautiful things. Of a world where humans were kind and treated the Elves like equals. Although, Neecey had seen what some humans were capable of first hand. Some were kind and took care of the wounded, but others. Others were cruel.

Ernil Orod was driven out of the Delocian clan when he started teaching younglings about other cultures, other worlds. Putting adventures in their minds and driving them away from their elven roots. He was told to leave and join the humans that he loved so deeply, and to never return to the elves he had betrayed.

It was a hard time for the elves. Heer Risal had to banish his own son, his only heir. The clan was in uproar, who would take over when Risal eventually succumbed to the Mother. And what of little Neecey herself? She was young, but she had seen many years already. And Orod, well he was her intended. When Neecey reached of age, and Orod would take the throne, Neecey was to be her "queen" as the humans said.

Shortly after Orod was driven out, Neecey was taken by the Nikians. She had feared that she would never see Orod again, but maybe she would find him while trying to find her way back to Delocia.

A howl interrupted her thoughts and the elf's eyes scanned the trees looking for any disturbance. "There." She called pointing straight ahead where she spotted the yellow eyes of the beasts.

Keiran turned when Neecey pointed, "So much for a controlled entrance, oh well same plan. I'm playing rabbit, you lot cover me." He didn't have a blade that he could overtly cut them with, from what he'd felt hitting them, it'd be the same as stabbing or slashing a tree trunk. Regardless, he still rushed the eyes, he counted nine pairs total, scimitars out, if nothing else he'd use them to focus his strikes. There were still some men on the ground so as bait, it was his job to eat up the clock, but the wolves seemed to have business plan. They didn't just barrel right in, they slunk back, forcing Keiran to have to exit the view of his comrades before they attacked. Keiran used his lead attacker as a spring board into a tree, and using momentum he put distance between him and the pack when they jumped down. He whistled for their attention, but the alpha wasn't there, they were too agile to engage in the woods so he retreated into the clearing with the pack on his heels. This time the animals followed him like dumb beasts as he ran for a tree, the creatures were so close to him they couldn't stop in time to catch him vaulting off the trunk behind them. He noticed there were fewer on his tail when he turned to run again, hopefully he could run them around the clearing to be picked off.

After a dozen strides his plan was cut short by the alpha, all nine feet of it. He was hearing some encouraging noise behind him with the nine foot monster burst out of the brushes on his left, maw wide open. He quickly shoved his bracered left arm right behind the canines and the beast bit down. The bracer kept saved his arm from being bit off but the force still broke his arm with an audible crack, it shook its head and he felt his shoulder break too. In pain, he dropped his scimitars as he was swung around like a rag dog, fortunately he had good instincts, he managed to stick one of his throwing knives in its eye. While this made the alpha let go of his arm, his luck seemed to hold, he saw no blood on his arm before his back met a tree across the clearing. The air exploded out of his lungs and he could only get to all fours.

He could hear the pack closing in, his senses had long since stopped tracking his comrades, but he took the lack of screaming to be a good thing.

Fayvus noticed Keiran run away which was obviously a sign the pack was near. He felt as if he couldn't leave Kenni there alone but everything he believed in told him that just sitting around was wrong. He turned back to Kenni. "Listen to me Kenni. If you see any Lycans I want you to shooot them as much as possible at soft tissues. If there are too many run with this woman, do not turn back. I promise I will be back soon." He climbed down the tree to start tracking where their rabbit had gone, soaking each of his weapons in his paralysis poison in the process. No more of that stuff I guess. He thought to himself.

Eventually he came to the clearing where Keiran was about to be swarmed by the pack. There wasn't much time. He sprinted down the clearing while still keeping to the edge near the trees for a little bit of cover. The pack was nearly on him when Fayvus shouted his Nikian battle cries as to distract them from their easy kill to a possible threat. Two came after him and he threw two knives at the first one, at it's neck, then used a heavy uppercut to diagnaly cut his axe into its skull. The next he threw the axe at the second's chest. There was a chance it would not work but thankfully the Skyes were on his side. Still jogging he picked his axe back up and began to throw a knife at each beast. He could not hope to even have a chance at taking all of them under normal circumstances. Fayvus was relying totally on the paralysis tostun them long enough to rescue this brave man. That was why he threw one knife per Lycan. When he got to the Alpha he threw his knife into it's other eye and when it dropped he buried his axe into the skull. A cheap but effective way to buy some time.

The healer knew there was only thirty seconds until the other Lycans could get on their feet. Hopefully seeing the Alpha dead would discourage them from tracking again. If not they were going to die by the hands of these monsters. Picking up Keiran over his shoulders he hustled as fast as he could back into the woods. The man was heavier than expected though Fayvus was not young anymore. Twenty. The running was wearing him down but he kept the pace fast enough. After his long sprint he looked up to a tree to try to climb up. The spot was not too far from the tree Kenni was at so at least he could run to her if she was in trouble. Ten. The old man used his axe to help himself climb the tree while still holding on to the Landing scout. It took him fifteen seconds and every bit of stamina to pull off what he did. They were now sitting on some high branches and Fayvus was holding Keiran so that the man did not fall. Time was up.

Neecey watched as the man climbed down and ran towards Keiran in the clearing. Fayvus, was what the red head had called him. He was immediately dispatching wolves and helping Keiran to safety. The young man had been bitten by one of the beasts, hopefully they could save him before he too became one of the lycans.

As Fayvus ran, carrying Keiran on his back, Neecey readied her bow. The older man had done a great job at buying him time to escape, but the beasts were awakening now. She took careful aim, breathing slowly to calm any shaking nerves.

With a final exhalation, Neecey released the arrow and it rocketed through the trees, piercing leaves, and finally hitting it's target. The first lycan went down, the arrow protruding from its forehead. The others howled out in retaliation but they could not find the source of the arrows. Neecey took down two more, while the creatures sniffed the air trying to pick up on any unknown scent.

The trees were doing well to mask their scents, their bodies completely hidden from the creatures' sense of smell. Her only fear was if they would see them. Their eyesight was incredible, but the troop was wearing black and greens to blend in. She took down another beast and quickly readied another arrow.

She looked over at Kenni, was her name; interesting, and came to the shocking realization. Her hair. The bright red color stood against the darkness like a flame. All the lycans had to do was pick up on the color, and they would be on top of them.

"Kenni, your hair." Neecey said quickly. "Put your hood up." The elf said quickly moving to help the young girl.

But it was too late. The loud howl was her sign that they had spotted the young girl. Looking back over at the clearing, she could see them charging towards their tree as fast as they could. The other archers in the traveling group tried to take down as many as possible, but many got away unharmed.

Neecey quickly shot a few arrows that dispatched a handful of Lycans, but there were still so many. They attacked the tree they were on, pounding on the trunk and shaking the branches. Kenni and Neecey held on tight, hoping to not fall.

Without a clear shot, Neecey couldn't take them out, they were trapped. Realizing there was noway to continue on, Neecey pulled Kenni from her crouched position. It was hard to move on the shaking branches, but the elf girl practically threw the red head towards another tree. Kenni landed safely, gripping tightly to the trunk and Neecey moved to join her.

But she lost her footing, her body immediately falling from the branch. She caught herself, but just barely to land on her feet, but in the center of the pack. She had nothing but Keiran's bow and the knife he had given her.

Kenni watched, horrified and paralyzed. Not only did she witness her Nurse become a brave and vicious hero, she also had experienced the dread of the oncoming pack of Lycan, her own hair drawing them forward.

The only other female acted quickly, throwing Kenni through the air as easy as tossing a small fruit and Kenni let out a scream, nearly dropping her crossbow. Her cheek caught a branch, skin broken to reveal blood, but she clutched the tree trunk securely, determined not to allow the woman's act go to waste.

Spinning about on a thin branch, she gasped, seeing her savior in the center of the gather Lycans. Howling erupted in the air as claws were raised, most of the wolfmen standing on their hind legs and snarling at the girl.

Readying her bow, Kenni took care to remember everything Fayvus had told her within the last thirty minutes. Heart. Aim for the heat, she repeated to herself. She opened both eyes, sight guiding her gaze and she released a bolt.

A yelp signaled the end of one Lycan's life.

Several of the pack turned on her then, snarling and attacking the base of the tree viciously. She could smell a strange scent in the air, distantly familiar yet not. "Fayvus..." she wanted to yell, but only a whisper escaped. Again, Kenni readied the crossbow, but couldn't get a shot to their hearts. "F-Fayvus..."

Fayvus was with Keiran in the branches fixing the man's arm. He took some branches and some of his own clothing to tie togather in an attempt to put the bone in place. That Alpha really tore up his bone. He thought to himself. Off to the distance he heard a howl. Kenni! The healer searched through the injured man's person two find a few knives. They were not silver, nor were they of use for the man at this moment of time. "I am sorry but I must go help the others. Do not make a sound." He climbed down the tree and ran towards the sound despite his lack of breath. He did not know what kind of help he could provide at his state but it did not matter. He dipped the stolen knives, his dagger, and his axe in his deadliest poison while he ran there. White Asp.

There were several Lycans who were attempting to harm what he could tell was Kenni. Her flaming red hair was unmistakable. He began to run behind trees and throwing the knives at the beasts. Most only barely got through the skin into the flesh, not enough to drop from the injury, but the poison would do his job. The ones that we hit were already feeling the effect as they were slumping over close to death. He threw his dagger at another, piercing it's side. Fayvus ran out from behind one to chop at it with his axe. It was successfull but the last one saw him and attacked. It slashed at his chest, ripping up some of his armor and cutting skin. In return the old man swung his axe at it's neck and heard the crack of the spine. They were dead now. Fayvus sat and slumped against a tree holding his cut with his hand. The energies were flowing though his body to his wound, closing it under his hand.

Keiran was half blinded and nearly out cold from the pain but he willed himself to stay conscious, to lose consciousness was to die...he had to stand. Noise picked up again and he felt himself moving quickly. There was a sensation of his arm being wrapped up, pressure being applied to his crushed bones and even more blinding pain. Despite all this he still felt the demand to get to his feet, with titanic effort he began to get to his feet and felt himself fall. Reflex once more saving him, he flicked a switch with his rest and a blade with a hook attachment came from the bracer. The hook caught and saved him from the fall, but he swung a bit to get a roll on to his feet. Normally he would retract the blade, but with his senses so dull he couldn't rely on his usual quick strike method, it had to stay out. But momentum was against him and he fell to his face;the blade retracting in his fall, "Stand damn it," he shouted at the top of his lungs as he hauled himself to all fours and began slowly forcing hit feet under his body.

He finally managed to get to his feet and looked around, but there were no wolves around. He did however catch a building gap in the clouds, "Guys we might want to get ready to run...no telling when round two will show up." He felt his consciousness leaving him again, he really couldn't afford for this to be happening right now. He managed to keep his feet but he was in now position to run when the clouds full broke, he'd either be left or need saving himself.

Kenni was shivering. Her mind couldn't process so much so quickly.

The man from Landing suggested they ready themselves to run and the idea seemed splendid. Without a second thought, Kenni threw her red hair over her shoulder and cautiously climbed down the tree the girl had thrown her into. Twigs and leaves stuck to her in places, but she only swatted at them half-caring. Her eyes found Fayvus and she ran to him, clutching at him desperately. "Are you all right?" she demanded. The wound was bloody and she swallowed hard, her eyes widening at the sight.

"Will...will you be all right? Fayvus?" She felt tears forming in her eyes, the stress of the moment reaching its peak. Being in the real world was harsh and cold and...red. She couldn't tear her gaze from the blood.

The wounds under his hands were finally fully closed. At the last part of the process Fayvus coughed up some dried blood on his shirt. Steadily rising to his feet he pointed to Neecey. "Kenni. I need you to get her, help each other walk if either of you so need it." He told her he looked to Keiran who was now walking but barely. He walked over to the scout, put the man's arm over his shoulders. "You can't possibely walk by yourself right now." He said almost to himself as he walked back to the girls while supporting his current patient. "I suggest we get out of this forest as soon as utterly possible. No short cuts." He said as he collected a few of his knives and his dagger from the corpses on the ground.

Kenni did as she was told. Every time she blinked, she could see the growling maws of the beasts that lay dead around them. Or dripping red ribbons would reign and catch her breath. Swallowing hard, she helped the girl up and allowed her to lean against her side. They were relatively the same size, so the feat wasn't too difficult. Kenni found herself very puzzled though, wondering which way to head. Fayvus seemed to have the right head in the group and he took off quickly after gathering daggers and knives.

They followed quickly, twigs snapping and leaves rustling underfoot. Kenni's chest tightened with panic. What if they didn't make it? But she remained focused on the back of Fayvus' head to concentrate her efforts fully on moving and not becoming a blubbering child. Having another being attached to her side helped her mind stay on task as well, even though the girl was doing quite well.

"How much farther?" she half-whispered to Fayvus.

Keiran began shuffling to where the he'd dropped his swords, the throwing knives weren't very important but the swords and bow were from his father. "My swords," were his simple explanation as he retrieved them. With his one good arm he returned them to their sheaths and gradually finding his speed returning even had time to fetch his throwing knives. There were still some unaccounted for but her assumed those were the ones that Neecey had claimed back at the farm. When they set off he had to resort to leaning on the old man since he still lacked the ability to keep up on his own.

At the red head's question, he looked to the sky, " Sky will clear in five minutes and I'm guessing the path will be about a hundred yards or so... though we're headed towards the town if we continue this way." He couldn't be entirely sure with all this crazy magic type stuff going but he was still more than eighty percent certain. "On foot we'll get there by morning, where were you lot headed anyways and what for? A small platoon moving on horse like that isn't something that occurs lightly."

As the group was walking fast the Landing scout asked them about their journey, mentioning the guards. Fayvus had no idea what happened to those fools. They were not even skilled enough to be called fodder let alone guards. It would have been better if they had never came at all. What would he tell the scout? Certainly not the whole truth, only partial. Perhaps treasure hunting would be a good lie to tell.

"We are on a holy mission to the land long since gone. Rodwin is where we be traveling to. As I can see you two are not here under any true mission and you both are exceptional fighters, would you be at all interested in joing us as guards? I promise the pay is good." He told the woman and the scout.

" I don't know about my companion, but I don't know the area well enough to get you through the Saerian Mountains. If anyone knew where to start, it'd be them from what I've heard no one has a better oral history. If we head straight north from the village, we'll pass the Old Forest and eventually get to the base of Mountains." He didn't mention that getting to the mountains was in the opposite direction of where he wished to go but the open sea was too dangerous at the moment. If he wanted to get home, he'd have to use either a ridiculously long distance land caravan far to the east or take a boat from a pirate town in the same area. Sea travel would be short from there but in exchange he'd had to travel through the wastes...never a pleasant experience.

"At any rate, I'd suggest avoiding Nic. From what I've heard the place has wolves the size of ponies, and I don't know about you guys. But I'm sick and tired of wolves for the time being, besides even Nican horses wouldn't be able to handle those mountains." He was mostly going from book-lore and gossip but as this was the only knowledge he had... he had to phish for information with that. The old man...Fayvus obviously wasn't going to talk much, but maybe the red head would be more open mouthed.

"Oh, no more wolves, please," Kenni said in response, leading Neecey as best as she could. They didn't have much time according to the Landing man. She couldn't remember names, if they had given them. Adrenaline still racing as her eyes remained trained on their escape. "What were your names again?" she asked to distract herself. The crossbow in her free hand felt heavier the further they shuffled forward.

Before either could reply however, Kenni stopped dead in her tracks. Head-splitting pain erupted, steam through a tiny hole, the rumored volcanoes exploding at the tops of mountains, magma dribbling down with agonizing heat. She released the girl, dropped to her knees. Tears formed in her eyes, but she couldn't feel them against the vibrations of the booming voice within her mind.

Hurry, young one. The evil draws near.

"Wha...what?" she cried, wet lines falling down her cheeks. "The wolves?"

Hurry. Now. Run.

"What is it!"

Darkness knows your location. Escape. Find shelter.

"We...we are...but...ah!" A dagger seemed to pierce her skull.

Don't trust these strangers.

Kenni's eyes opened wide and saw only the moon, the clouds rolling and swirling faster and faster forward. Her body was numb.

When the shuddering pain finally ended, blackness covered her sight, her whimpers the only sound she could hear.

Fayvus picked up the pace of the group in hopes to escape their current dangers quickly. The scout had commented about the large wolves in Nik, as if they could be compared to these Lycans. "Those wolves can be easily spooked by certain scents and noises. One of the reasons the Nikians paint themselves with a wild mixture and and such strange battle cries. Though it works with a war pack, I doubt it would work with us. We could come in contact with the Nikian tribes to aid us through the mountains. I have an old friend that has a debt to pay." He stated to the group. He looked at Kenni seeing that she was troubled he put an arm around her shoulder to give her a hug. "It will be alright child. I will gladly give my life for yours." He told her kindly.

Fayvus was trying to comfort her, but she couldn't verbalize the actual agony she felt. Such a great voice, a Skye voice, echoing within her skull produced a shocking amount of pain. Her feet staggered, but with Fayvus' help, she was able to somewhat keep going with the group. Distantly, she knew they needed to get out of here as fast as possible. But her vision failed her again and again to black edges and dots.

"Are we almost there," she breathed, near tears. The further they walked however, the better she felt. If they simply kept moving, perhaps she could normalize and actually make sense of what she had heard.